Letters

I am a regular reader of your Newsletter and find it so useful in information that I do not wish to loose even a single issue but my difficulty is the availability of exchange for sending the subscription. However, I hope to obtain foreign exchange early next month when applications are considered.

In India traditional medicines are widely used and the practising Vaids and Hakeems (doctors of indigenous systems) strongly recommend the use of Indian Forest Honey over apiary honey. They maintain that forest honey is produced by ‘Big Bees’ Apis dorsata in the interior of the forest where there is an abundance of natural medicinal herbs available. As bees collect their nectar from the blossoms, the honey produced contains traces of tincture of medicinal herbs and is high in medical value. There is no chance of contamination with chemical spraying of crops and also no artificial feeding.

Are the Indian Vaids and Hakeems correct in their views?

G S Saberwal, New Delhi, India